Innovative traffic management systems

The aim of this project is to develop innovative traffic management systems for both urban and rural areas, i.e. both within and outside built-up areas. Current control systems for rural areas will be adapted to the new outputs of the dynamic model of mobility. Systems within urban areas will be optimized for each region, city or busy road so that traffic is as smooth as possible, ideally utilizes the network capacity and prevents crisis situations. Unprecedented within the Czech Republic, the solution will allow for regulating and organizing transport for example in areas with road construction, completely independently of the surrounding infrastructure, using a dynamic model of mobility with “knowledge” of the traffic conditions in the surrounding area. In cities, the system will introduce ‘artificial intelligence’ that will allow for achieving the optimum settings of signal plans for the traffic light network.

New models for financing transport infrastructure

Creating new models for transport infrastructure financing through standard tools will ensure that users pay the full costs for their transport performance, so that those costs are not passed onto others. It is only natural that different users place a different load on the infrastructure and the costs of many of them are currently being passed onto the entire society. New financing models will be based on analyses of the cost structure and the behaviour of road user groups. The pilot project will validate usage-based fees for passenger cars on the Czech Republic’s core network.

Comprehensive database of the movement of people and goods in the Czech Republic

The objective is to create a unique database on the movement of people and goods across the Czech Republic’s transport infrastructure. It will contain data from both current systems (such as the toll system, sensors integrated into the transport infrastructure, camera systems, transporter dispatching systems, information systems of logistics centres etc.) and innovative sources (GSM network signals, floating vehicles with GSM/GPRS technologies), which will fill the gaps in current data collection. This database will be used as an input for the dynamic mobility model.

Dynamic mobility model

With the comprehensive mobility database, a dynamic mobility model will be created that will provide the inputs necessary for ‘new generation’ control and information systems. Transport, emission, power and meteorological models will be integrated at a single location. New functions will provide an overview of both the current and future traffic situations. There will be tools for traffic prediction and management, including crisis situations. The platform of the model will also feature an interface that will allow for seamless application within other systems. Another interesting feature will be special maps that look at mobility in an entirely new way.

Methods for modelling and optimizing multi-modal mobility

The aim is to specify and introduce tools to support decision making in mobility planning and management, both operational and strategic, in the Czech Republic. New modelling methods will take into account all possible links and relationships existing within the complex conditions of today’s society. The transport system will be viewed from the perspective of an individual person and his or her activities and objectives. The design will include an agency model based on micro-modelling and the cognitive/behavioural profile of the transport participant. The computational model will open the way to systematic management and optimisation through tolls, tickets, routing, parking zones and public transport timetables.